Farro + Black Beans + Corn

June 13, 2012By Jess

It’s been about four and a half months since I gave my first Cook Smarts cooking lesson. One of our biggest discoveries is regardless of how proficient the client is in the kitchen, meal planning and feeling “stuck” in a rut is pretty much a common problem across the board. It’s not a surprise. We spend our days stressed about this, that, and the other that it can be hard to devote creative brain space to the question of, “What should I make for dinner?” That’s where this new series comes in: “3 Ingredients / 3 Ways” is meant to help you get unstuck out of your rut and hopefully make meal planning slightly easier for you. The key is to consistently grocery shop for mostly the same things but having new ways to put those same ingredients together. To launch this series, I’ve put together one of my favorite trio of ingredients – BLACK BEANS + CORN + FARRO – with a trio of recipes that will provide a good mix through the month. Even better, these three ingredients can all be pantry staples that will prevent that whole spoiling issue that everybody experiences but nobody enjoys.

Keep an assortment of canned beans in your pantry. They’re a great source of protein and all you need is a can opener, and to drain and rinse (to rinse off sodium)

Choose semi-pearled farro which takes about 25 minutes to cook. If you’re going to be making this healthy whole grain often, you can prepare a larger batch. Cooked farro is 3x the size of non-cooked farro, so cooking 1 cup will get you 3 cups to use throughout the weeks. If you want to make all 3 of these recipes, definitely make 1 batch and then freeze what you don’t use for up to 3 months